The First Meeting
by LibraryVampire
Summary: What the first meeting could have been like between Tarrant and Alice. CHILD ALICE! BEFORE Horunvendush Day and the destruction of Witzend. NOTE- I own nothing in regards to AiW.


The little girl tried to stop her trembling lip and impending tears as she clutched Mr. Flops closer to her small body. She looked around, up, down, left and right- everywhere she looked was tall, big trees with wooden signs pointing in all directions and in a few ways that didn't look to lead anywhere. She tentatively picked a path to walk on, it was lined with pretty flowers of all sorts of dizzying colors- pretty things can't be bad things, right? "C'mon Mr. Flops, Mummy might be dith way. Don' be scawed, I gotcha." The tiny 4 year old tried to gather as much bravery as she could, thinking of her Mummy and Daddy to do so. Finally thinking she had enough courage to go along the pretty colored path, she marched forward, still clutching her stuffed bunny for dear life. After what seemed to be an hour, the path opened up out of the forest and her wide blue eyes were met with an almost blindingly rainbow colored, old looking city. She looked at her bunny in confusion. "Dis in't London, Mr. Flops!" Her tears were back, she didn't know where she was! Ohh, Mummy and Daddy were going to be so mad! She's gotten herself lost right before tea time, this was by far the worst thing she'd done yet! She was distracted from her crying by a flash of bright purple to her right- it was a kitty! She hurried to follow the purple kitty and followed it into the bright colored city at the edge of the forest. After a while, she lost sight of the kitty, once again finding herself lost. So many big buildings were around her, she couldn't make heads or tails of where to go. She heard a commotion around the next right turn and when she looked, she saw a tall man with a tall hat and a happy smile. She giggled, liking his smile enough that it made her happy as well. He must've heard her and when he turned to look in her direction, she tried to duck behind the building she was against. She didn't realize that Mr. Flops' light brown legs were still visible and the tall man had seen them and the cute little girl with the sweet giggle. He slowly approached her hiding spot and peeked around the corner. What he saw made him smile even wider! An adorable little girl clutching a brown stuffed bunny rabbit and the prettiest blond hair and bright blue eyes! Her dress was a bright lilac that made him think of summertime. But something didn't add up, there were no children her size in Witzend, he would have remembered someone that small. "Are you lost, little tea cup?" "I am, Sir. Do you know where my Mummy and Daddy are? I'm late for tea!" He couldn't help but melt a bit at her voice- she was trying so hard to not be scared! "Where did you leave them? They might still be there." "In London, Sir. At the en'rance to Mummy's garden." ::London?:: He mumbled to himself ::Where was London?:: He knew he wouldn't be able to remember on his own, so with a bit of coaxing, he gathered the little girl's hand in his own and they walked over to his Hat Shoppe, thinking his Fa would know and if he didn't, Ma would. Gently escorting the girl inside, he called out to his parents. "Yes dear, what is.. Ohh you sweet little thing! Tarrant, where ever did you find such a cute little girl?" Tarrant chuckled, his Ma had already fallen in love with the little lost girl! "She's lost, Ma. Says she is from a place called London and her Ma and Fa are waiting on her." His mother nodded absently as she started to think of the many cities and towns that start with the letter L. Tarrant lifted the girl up onto the counter and gave her a biscuit as they waited. It took a bit, but finally his Ma remembered. "London is Above, Tarrant. If I remember right, there should be a rabbit hole that Nivens keeps open in Tulugy Woods that she can use to get home. She just has to think carefully on where 'Home' is and the rabbit hole will open near that location. Take her there and make sure she gets there safe and sound, and hurry- it's almost night fall." Tarrant quickly helped the little girl down and they set out for the forest and the rabbit hole. Again, just like in the beginning, it only took about an hour to reach where her adventure had started and to where it was ending. The little girl was amazed that one path and one tall man with a tall hat had given her more excitement than all the tea parties she'd ever been to! In hardly any time at all, they reached a dirt and tree root wall with a blue door in it. Tarrant put one of her hands on the door knob and crouched down next to her. "Now, think hard of home, little tea cup. Once you have all your thoughts on it, open the door and walk through. You'll be safe, no worries!" "Thank you, Sir, for helping me." "You're welcome, little tea cup. It was nice meeting you." "You too, Sir." They smiled at each other and then she closed her eyes and thought as hard as she could on her Mummy's garden, her house, the tea table by the rose bushes and of her little purple and blue play house and rope swing. Still thinking of home, she turned the door knob and stepped though the door way. She cautiously opened her eyes and was delighted to see everything she had been thinking of. "ALICE! Alice? Where are you girl?" She smiled in pure joy at hearing her Daddies voice and ran in his direction. "Here I am!" Her Father caught her up in his arms and gently tapped her nose. "You're late for tea, Alice! Naughty!" She just giggled as he turned and carried her to the table where her Mother was waiting for them. As she looked up, she caught sight of the open door way and the tall man. He had a stunned but happy look on his face and right before he was out of sight, she saw him mouth her name with a look of awe on his face. ~~~~~END~~~~


End file.
